“We know what we want now, we’re not just shooting in the air, shooting randomly.” South Africa-based singer-songwriter and producer Yannick Ilunga is talking about the maturation of Noirwave, the movement he pioneered through his adventures as Petite Noir, together with his wife, creative director Rharha Nembhard. Noirwave is a way of using music and visuals to communicate messages of empowerment, and to invent new African narratives.

Since the release of his devastatingly good debut album, La vie est belle / Life Is Beautiful, Ilunga has moved from his early to his late twenties, and the Petite Noir sound has progressed naturally to reflect his personal growth. True to the Noirwave ethos, fans can still expect a combination of musical influences from across time and geography, brought to life with his deep, melancholic voice, but, on the cusp of releasing his new EP this year, he is promising an evolution. “My music is all about pushing boundaries,” he says. “With this record we’re taking everything to a higher level. It’s explosive.”

I’m meeting with Ilunga in Cape Town a few days before he travels to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to shoot with photographer Kyle Weeks and Nembhard for the EP. “There’s a certain filter there that you can’t get anywhere else,” he says of his father’s homeland. “It’s tropical and green and lush.” This will not be the first time he’s worked in DRC, as the 2015 video for ‘Down’ was also shot there. For that outing director Max Mogale followed Ilunga and Nembhard as they made their way through Lubumbashi, capturing moving portraits of locals that offer glimpses of public life on the streets of the city.

One of six siblings, Ilunga was born in Brussels and grew up in Cape Town, but he makes a more-or-less annual trip to DRC, and the time he spends there is an exploration of his identity and heritage. “Congo is a big influence on the new music. It’s where I’m from. It’s part of me,” he says. For the upcoming trip, the small team plan to shoot visuals inspired by royalty. “Kings still exist in modern-day Congo and other parts of Africa, so we’re going deeper into that world. We’re going to visit a few villages and try to get a real sense of that culture.” At his concert at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden back in Cape Town a week later, he performs wearing a crown, and a very regal, high-necked green velvet top by South African designer Rich Mnisi.

It’s hard for Ilunga to say how long the new EP has been in the making. He tells me that the process has been an organic one: he’d work on it and then let it go, then pick up again where he left off, sending tracks to various producers and collaborators along the way. US rappers Saul Williams and Danny Brown, and South African singer Elo will feature, as will Nembhard, who makes her singing debut. A constant in Ilunga’s life is travel, and this record is a product of his movements across the globe. Some songs were recorded in Cape Town, others in Vietnam, and all the vocals were laid down in Vienna. A degree of the production took place in Bangkok. I ask whether there’s one place he considers home. “Not yet,” he says. “I’m still young, I am wherever I am.”

When Ilunga’s working on a new song, the music comes first, and the lyrics begin as a free flow in the recording booth. Whatever he’s been thinking about or experiencing makes its way out from his subconscious. “I’m a Virgo – the virgin – so it’s like everything comes from the base level of me. I’m able to bring it out in a pure way.” If he likes what he hears then he’ll begin to arrange it more formally.

Although his songwriting is intuitive, it isn’t lacking in intent. Ilunga uses music to tackle the issues of his generation. “You have to in this day and age, otherwise what are you doing?” he says. But he’s careful not to deliver messages in a way that is preachy or obvious. What he wants to communicate overall is a sense of liberation. “I want people to walk away from it with positive energy. To think: I can do this, I can actually make a difference in my life and the lives of others.”

This feature was originally published in 2018 in issue one of Nataal magazine.

Want to ask Petite Noir questions? Visit Nataal Instagram here

Words Alix Rose-Cowie

Photography Kyle Weeks
Creative direction Rharha Nembhard

Published on 20/04/2020